There were 457 cases between January and October last year when it took paramedics longer than 20 minutes to reach patients in life-threatening situations due to an ambulance and staffing shortage.

OPSEU Local 256 president Mario Posteraro says "code-zero" events have become "apathetic administrative data-entry exercises."

In its budget delivered last week, the government says it plans to streamline the way land ambulance dispatch services are delivered by integrating the 59 emergency health services operators and 22 dispatch centres.